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Conference a success

02/06/2011 14:17:50

On May 16-17th, the 1st International Green Roof Students Conference united students from 10 countries.

A unique goal of the conference was to build a network of early career researchers focused on living architecture. With growing numbers of institutions offering postgraduate degrees in this field, this conference may well reflect the momentum green roof research has achieved.

Of the 22 students who presented their work to a research-oriented audience, most were Master’s and PhD students. The Universities represented include: University of Sheffield; Harper Adams University College; University of Reading; UCL; University of East London; University of Bath and Staffordshire University . Some supervisors and industry partners were present, but overall it was postgraduate students who owned the event.

Catered lunches were enjoyed in the ICOSS lobby, which featured a display from The Green Roof Centre for the month of May. In fact, all research groups hosted at ICOSS must host a month-long display of their work, and the Green Roof Centre was colourfully represented by posters, banners, feature projects on the plasma screens, and a sandbox-size green roof model of flowering bulbs, dramatic grasses and shiny succulents.

Topics covered
The conference featured two topical streams – substrate and vegetation – which were offered to all rather than parallel streams. As such, delegates were spared the conflict of decision, and allowed rather to sit through topics they might otherwise have skipped. This style fostered great dialogue and discussion within the group.

Summary list of papers presented:
Barking Riverside Green Roof Experiment: Thermal properties – Insulation. Presented by C. Papasozomenou, University of East London.
Experimentations of the effects of green roofs on building thermal environments in a cold climate. Presented by J. Yoshimi, University of Sheffield.
Unconventional species choices for green roofs? Benefits for summertime air cooling? Presented by M. Vaz Monteiro, University of Reading.
Exploring the potential of Mexican Crassulaceae for green roofs. Presented by E. Olivares, University of Sheffield.
Characterising the components of green roof growing media. Presented by A. Graceson, Harper Adams University College.
Modelling green roof run-off from storm events. Presented by F.Sonnenwald, University of Sheffield.
Determination of moisture retention curves for a variety of green roof substrates by using the pressure plate method. Presented by J. Werdin, University of Sheffield.
A hydrological runoff model for a green roof drainage layer. Presented by G. Vesuviano, University of Sheffield.
Ecological trends on old green roofs – a review and synthesis. Presented by C. Thüring, University of Sheffield.
Animal biodiversity and urban green walls. Presented by C. Chiquet, University of Staffordshire
Mapping the performance of green roofs in different climatic regions and zones: the development of a roof decision support system for use in industry.
Presented by P. Hampshire, Buro Happold, University of Bath.
Up on the roof: Re-writing nature, re-writing people. Presented by J. Dickson, University College London.

Overall the conference was a success and all participants responded positively to the benefit of focused networking and researcher-based discussion. There is talk about putting together another International Researcher Green Roof Conference in 2013, so stay tuned!